In golf and other similar sports, a proper form during a stroke or swing is very important. When learning how to golf, a user first attempts to master the fundamentals of a correct grip, stance, and swing. The goal is to be able to consistently reproduce a swing with the proper form. Of particular importance to a golf swing is the balance of the user. Any movements of the user's head may result in a shift of balance, which in turn affects the progression of the swing.
In order to swing smoothly and hit a golf ball correctly, a user should take a swing with his or her eyes on the ball from the beginning of the swing motion through to the end of the swing. In other words, the user's head should be kept substantially motionless during the motion of the swing so as to make both body and shoulders smoothly rotate in a coordinated manner. Keeping the head motionless during such movement is made difficult due to the fact that humans involuntary respond to movement and activity within their fields of peripheral vision. To this end, as the eyes move, the head and body move. Thus, once the eyes move during a golf swing or similar activity, the head and body will typically follow with associated movement(s), which will degrade the golf swing. When a user winds up for their swing, the user may lose sight of the ball and have to recapture it during the swing. As the eyes track to find the ball, this can cause the head and body to move thereby changing the swing, typically with deleterious effect on the result of the golf swing.
Several conventional devices have been developed for training the vision and swing movements of golfers or other sportsmen and women. For example, Peters, U.S. Pat. No. 5,177,510 describes a pair of training glasses with transparent lenses and horizontal and vertical lines drawn on the lenses to help the golfer focus on a single point “in the crosshairs.” However, the transparent lenses continue to allow the eyes to capture all movements occurring in all directions, and it is difficult to train the human eye to avoid moving towards such distractions. As a result, the training glasses in Peters require additional discipline of the users which may simply not be present in some circumstances, and at a minimum, additional training must be used to make these glasses work for their intended purpose. Another conventional design is described in Goldblatt, U.S. Pat. No. 6,505,931, wherein the lenses of training glasses are provided with a pinhole and a horizontal line in one embodiment. However, these glasses have proven difficult to use for golfers for multiple reasons, including an inability to track a shot following the swing (to confirm whether the swing was performed appropriately) and the difficulty with accurately seeing through the pinhole in one lens. Accordingly, the devices such as shown in these conventional designs are often discarded by users before they are effective at improving a user's golf swing and game.
There is a need, therefore, for an assembly that addresses one or more of the needs in the field of vision training and provides for improved focus and easier use during training, for golf and/or other sporting endeavors.